Lost in the Storm
by MyLadyScribbler
Summary: Tintin is haunted by another nightmare about Chang and the plane crash. He dreams of a raging snowstorm in the mountains, a giant hairy creature, and a dark cave full of echoing cries for help.


This is set during the events of _Tintin in Tibet_. Tintin has another nightmare about Chang and the plane crash after he excuses himself from the chess game for the evening, and he struggles to make sense of everything that he hears and sees.

Disclaimers, etc: Tintin, Snowy, Chang, Haddock et al are all the property of the Fondation Hergé.

 **xAoTx**

Tintin headed up the stairs to his room at the Hotel des Sommets, Snowy trotting along at his heels.

Even from up here, he could still feel the disapproving glares of the other guests in the recreation room burning into his back. So it was with no small amount of relief that he reached the room and closed the door behind himself and Snowy.

How embarrassing it had been. He'd fallen asleep over the chessboard, and dreamed that Chang was in trouble. A plane crash, somewhere in distant mountains. And he'd startled all the other guests when he'd yelled out in his sleep.

What could it mean?

"You're just overtired," Haddock said, packing up the chessboard. "Go to bed."

Snowy curled up on the bed as Tintin got into his pajamas, brushed his teeth, and washed his face. He started to climb into bed, but he stopped, turned, and went to gaze out the window.

Outside, it was a beautiful early spring night, with the foothills of the French Alps stretching far out beyond the village. But Tintin felt as if he was staring back out at the plane wreckage instead. And hearing Chang calling out to him over and over.

 _A dream. It was just a dream,_ Tintin told himself firmly.

But a worrisome little voice inside him told him somehow that wasn't true.

Snowy jumped off the bed, wandered over to Tintin and tugged at his pajama leg, whimpering.

"All right, Snowy, I'm coming." Tintin crawled into bed and switched off the lamp on the bedside table. Snowy curled up next to him, his head resting on Tintin's chest.

Slowly, both boy and dog started to drift off to sleep.

"…a plane en route from Hong Kong to Kathmandu has crashed in the Gosain Thān Massif…"

Tintin buried himself deeper under the covers.

"…a rescue party found no signs of survivors…"

The room slowly faded, dissolving in a growing storm of white.

A strong, bitterly cold wind howled in from the north, bringing with it snowflakes and ice shards that stung Tintin's face like tiny hornets.

Where was he?

Tintin sat up and looked around him. He could make out, just barely, the shapes of mountains on the horizon, jagged and gray. And below it, giant shards of metal shrapnel jutting out from the snow.

Something small and furry was lying in a nearby snowbank.

It was a teddy bear, damp and ragged from exposure on the mountain, with a tattered green ribbon around its neck.

But as Tintin reached for it, the bear suddenly stood up of its own accord. It began walking away as the snow intensified.

"Wait!" Tintin shouted. "Where are you going?"

To his amazement, the bear grew and grew until it was twice Tintin's height. Its fur grew shaggier, and fangs sprouted from its mouth.

It wasn't a bear at all anymore. It looked almost like a cross between a lion and a gorilla. What on earth was it?

The creature looked back at Tintin, with a gaze that almost looked like pity. Then it gave a mournful howl and walked away in the increasing snowfall.

"No!" Tintin yelled. "Please, come back!"

He stumbled to his feet and started to run, but the gathering snow made it slow going. It felt like wet concrete, clinging heavily to his clothes and boots.

The snow came down harder and harder, covering everything, and making it harder to see.

North, south, east, west, up, down…he had no idea where everything was now. Where he was now. The snow had swallowed up all of his tracks.

And then the ground gave way beneath him with a deafening crack.

"NO!"

Down, down Tintin fell, into increasing darkness, until he found himself tumbling down a snowy slope into an underground cave.

It was even colder down here than it had been on the mountain surface. Tintin shivered violently, both from the cold and from a growing sense of utter helplessness.

And then, out of the darkness came a voice.

"Tintin!"

It was Chang!

But where was he? He sounded far away, very far away.

"Chang! Where are you!" Tintin called back.

"Find me!"

Chang's voice echoed off the walls of the cave, growing fainter and fainter. _"Find me…find me…find me…"_

"I can't find you!" Tintin cried.

 _Can't find you…find you…find you…_

"I'm lost…"

He thought it was Chang saying those words.

But they were coming from him.

 _I'm lost..._

The darkness, the howling of the storm above, and the echoing voices in the cave intensified.

 _Find me…find me…can't find you…find you…_

"Help me," Tintin choked.

 _Lost…found…lost…found…_

 _Lost._

Something was licking his face.

Tintin opened his eyes to Snowy sitting on his chest, a look of canine concern on his face. Early morning sunlight was pouring in through the window.

"Morning, Snowy," Tintin yawned.

He was exhausted. Somehow, the prospect of going hiking this morning didn't hold the same appeal that it had the day before.

Tintin slowly hauled himself out of bed and started to pull himself through a few yoga stretches. Standing mountain, plank, cobra, warrior. He tried to do a headstand, but he lost his balance and crashed into the wall. Someone in the room next door began hammering on the wall and cursing.

"Sorry!" Tintin called through the wall as he picked himself up. He sat back down on the bed and glumly stared out the window.

In the corridor, there were the sounds of the other guests getting ready for another day, with laughter and high spirits at the prospect of hikes in the country or boat rides on the lake. It seemed like a whole world away to Tintin, after the nightmares. The darkness of the cave, the storm...and what was that creature?

"Rrrr?" Snowy nudged Tintin's elbow.

"It seemed so real, Snowy," Tintin said, running his hand along Snowy's back. "I saw the plane wreckage. I heard Chang calling out to me, and I couldn't do anything." He sighed in frustration. "There's no way this can just be coincidence. And I still don't know what to do!"

Snowy whimpered.

And then an idea occurred to Tintin. "I know. There's a telegraph office in the village. I'll send a wire to Chang." He frowned. "But I can't just tell him I've been having bad dreams. That's kind of hard to put in a telegram, don't you think?" He thought for a moment more. "I'll just ask him to confirm when he's coming to Marlinspike Hall for a visit. That'll do it."

Snowy woofed in approval.

Rising from the bed, Tintin got dressed and washed up, and whistled for Snowy to follow him as he left the room.

He wasn't going to let a bunch of nightmares scare him.

Whatever was going on, Tintin was going to figure it out.

 **xAoTx**

Reviews welcome!


End file.
